Steering-gear.



S. KUZDZIAL.

STEERING GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22. 1915. 1,157,231. Patented ct.19,1915. 1 3 1 23 f lm/u 21,13,21 5 /Z o v 1221-1; :fi FIE- m M in M5 z Z7 Z7 I ze 3? w 3/ L v 6 4 \J g u 8 3 1918 7a 27 382,9

7 37 23 25? Funk E's WITNESS IN V E N TOR.

ATTORNEY.

COLUMBIA PLANDURAPH c0, WASHIN GGGGGG 1 c SZCZEPAN KTJ'ZDZIAI), or HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS.

ST ERING-GEAR.

" Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 19, 1915.

. p epplication-filedMay 22,1915.- Seria1No;29,78 l.

I To all whom it may concern:

. Be .it known that I, SzczEPAN KUZDZIA'L, a subject ofthe Emperorv of Austria-Hungary, and a resident of ,Holyoke, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new I and useful Steering-Gear, of which the following isa specification. Y

My inventlonrelates to improvements in steering gear for automobiles or other ve 'hlcles, and consists, with'the stub-axles and the steering-post of the machine, of certain peculiar actuatlng mechanism carried by the front axle of said machine, and flexible 7 transmission means between said steeringpost and said actuating mechanism, together with such other parts and members as may be requisite or necessary in order to render difierent angles with relation to thebody of such vehicle. The strain incidentto the steering operation is; well distributed by the aforesaid mechanism and transmission practicable and serviceable, all as hereinafter set forth. ,The primary objectof my lnventlon' is to provide a strong, simple and sensitive me'ch:

anism for turning the front wheels of a vehicleequipped with this steering gear, at

this gear, so'that there is little liability that the, steering-wheel will bej'erked from the hands of the driverof the vehicle f by any sudden and excessive shock to which the steering wheels-may be subjected or which they may sustain Other ob ects w1ll appearbfrom; the detailed description hereinafter given and which is to be read in connection with the accompanying, drawings forming, a part hereof, whereina practical embodiment of theyinvention is illustrated, and wherein like numerals of. referencerefer to 51111112111 parts throughout the several views.

Inthe drawings, Flgure l 's a top plan of the steering gear andof such parts of an; automobile as are needed to support said steering'gea'r and to afford a good under: standing of the operationof the same, "the major portion 'oftheg top of the front axle being broken away; Fig 2", a transverse section taken onflines' 2' 2 looking in'the direction of the; associated arrow, in Fig, 1, and showing; a portion of said axle'insection, and, Fig. 3, an enlarged side elevation, withsome jof the parts'.in-section, of the transmission mechanism between said axle and the steeringfpo'st; r

A lthough I have illustrated the invent1on 1n a'preferred form, so far as I am at present advised, it is to be understood that.

various changes in the shape, size, arrange ment, and construction of some or all of the parts of said invention as herein illustrated maybe made without departing from the spirit of the same.

I prefer to employ for a front axle a hol-' mounted to turn in the column? All of' the parts and members thus far mentioned,-

with the single exception of the axle 1, are old and well known.-

The axle 1 structurally differs from other front axles in that it is hollow or recessed and has interior bearings'as represented at 1111, '1212,- and 13, for two horizontal shafts 14 and 15. The axle 1 also has semicircular ends in top plan, and slots 16-16 in such ends to accommodate the stub-axles 5 and permit the latter to: move freely in either direction to the full extent required.

Each stub-axle 5 is provided at the inner end with an integral vertical post or spindle 17, and such post is journaled at the top and bottom inthe axlel, as represented at 18.-18 in Fig. 2. Secured on each spindle 17. above the horizontal plane of its stubaxle 5, is a bevel-gear 19, and secured to the adjacent terminal of either the shaft 14-01: the shaft 15, as the casemay be, is abevel-gear 2O 7 which 'interm'eshes V with said first-mentioned bevel-gear. Securedto adjacent terminals of the shafts 14: and 15 are two bevel-gears 21. An intermediate bevel-gear 22 intermeshes with the bevelgears 21 and so drivesthem with the shafts 14 and 15 in opposite directions. 1

The shafts, 14 and, 15 are of-different lengths so that the bevel-gear 22 can be conveniently operated by the steering-post 9 which in the present case is on the lefthand side ofvthe machine, If the steering post 9' were onthe righthand side of the machine, it "would be necessary to interchange or transpose theshafts 141 and 15 and rearrange the other parts accordingly,

but the construction to all intents and pur- I: poses would be the same as before. Thus it is seen that the matter of p osition laterally of the machine is not of particular 7 moment so far as this invention ,is concerned.

' The bevel-gear- 22 is operated from the V steering post'9 through the medium of certain connectionswhich must be flexible in order to accommodate the same to the independent motion of the vehicle frame or body,

which supports said post, relative to the axle 1,which carries said gear. Such connectlons are. described as follows: Thebevel-gear 22 is mounted on a spindle 23 which is journaled at the front end in the back side of the bearing 13, and is provided at the rear with a sleeve 24:, said gear being securedin the tang'ular interioror opening 26 in the sleeve 24, and is .adapted to; reciprocate therein.

' is located, to receive a pin 33 that connects present case to the front end Of'SfLld. sleeve by screws 25. The'sleeve 24 has a-rectan-.

gular interior, as represented at 26,. and is journaled in a bearing 27 which is bolted at: 28 to the axle 1 against the back side thereof.

A rectangular sliding head 29 fits the rec- Whenthe head 29 is rotated it carries with it the sleeve 24, with the spindle 23, and the bevel-gear;22. The head 29 has a slot 30,

opening through the rear end, to receive the front end of a-shaft 31, and said head also-has a longitudinal-slot'32, in each of the sides between which said first-mentioned slot said head withsaid shaft. The head 29 is rotated by the shaft 31, through the medium of the pin 33, and the slots 30 and 32 enable,

said shaft and said pin to tilt to whatever extent may be required as said shaft'is raised and lowered at the rear end by the motion 'of the vehicle frame on the springs. This same motion: and the resulting tilting moves.

' 'ment on the part of the shaft31-causethe with a universal coupling member 34,; and said member is connectedwith a uni distance between the bevel gear 22' and the driven end of: said shaftto vary,'but-such.

variation is taken careofxby the head 29 which moves back and forth'in the sleeve 24.;

The shaft 31 is provided at the rear end versal coupling. member 35 atthe front end of a short horizontal shaft '36. A wormgear 37 is secured on the shaft '36, and

. said'gear'intermeshes with a worm secured on the forward end of the steering-post 9. A bearing-box, represented withoutits cover 7 at 39 in Fig. 1, extends inwardly from the left-hand beam 4 to receive the forward terminal of the steering-post. 9 with the worm 38, and the shaft 36 with the worm-gear 37 The universal coupling permits the shaft 31 to be turned by the steering-post 9, by means of the worm membersandthe 36,1 egardless of the angular relation which said shaft 31 'may occupy or assume to. said 1 shaft 36. v o e V 7 From the foregoing it is plainly to be seen that, when the steering-wheel 10 and steer" ing-post 9 are turned to the left, the'worm 38 actuates theworm-gear 37 and with it, the

shafts 36 and 31, the sliding head. 29,-, the

sleeve '24 and the bevel-gear 22v to theright, with the result that said bevel-gearactuates the left-hand bevel-gear 21, together with the shaft'14 and, thebevel-gear 20'thereon, A in a forward direction, and .the right-hand bevel 'gear 21, together with the shaft 15 and the bevel-gear 20 thereon, in a rearwarfd direction, and so causes simultaneously the bevel-gear 19 on the left-hand spindle 17 to.

turn in such a manner as to swingthe stub-1 axle 5, which projects from said spindle, rearwardly, thusturning the wheel 6 onsaid axle tothe left, and the bevel-gear 19 on the rlght-hand spindle 17 to turn in jsuchfa man-f ner as to swingtheother stub-axle 5 forwardly, thus turning the right-hand wheel 6 to the left also. "Similarly, when the steer-:

ing-wheel 10 is turned to the [right, the wheels 6 are turned in ,the'same direction,

the operations or movements describedabovej it I distributedflnthis.steeringgear, that the steering operation is ac being then reversed. Thepower is so complished with ease and at the same time} there 1s no undue strain on the hands of the operator, Who holds the steering-wheel, when the front wheels'of thevehicle encounter obstacles that tend to divert th f their course V :7

, What I claim as mv inve'n'tiomand desire.-

to secureby Letters Patent,isr

1. Steering gear comprising a hollow-axle with said spindle gears, gears secured on the adJacentend's of said shafts, an interme-v diate gear journaledin said. axle and intermeshing with said last mentioned gearson sald shafts, a steering-post, -andra flexible driving connection between said intermediate gear and said post. r

J '2.Y, The combination, in steering gear o' i vehicles, with the steering post ofa vehicle,

o fua hollow front axle provided with 'interior bearings and with an exterior sleeve ad acent to one of suchab'ear'ings, stub-axles having vertlcal, spindles journaled ,in said axle, independent shafts journaled said bear1ngs,- actuating means between (said shafts and *said spindles,"gears secured on the adjacent ends of said shafts, a horizontal spindle andsleeve connected. and 'respec tively journaled in said i n fig-whiff? said first-mentioned sleeve is adjacent and in the latter, an intermediate gear mounted on said horizontal spindle to rotate therewith,vsaid intermediate gear intermeshing with said first-mentioned gears, ahead arranged to slide in said spindle sleeve, means to connect said spindle sleeve and head rotatably together, a shaft loosely connected with said head, a shaft adjacent to said steering-post, a universal. coupling connection between said last-mentioned shafts, and engaging driving members on said post and said shaft which is adj acentthereto.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for 3. The combination, in steering gear for vehicles, with the steering-post of a vehicle, of a hollow front axle having slotted ends dles, gears secured on the adjacent terminals of said shafts, a rotary member j ournaled in said. axle and carrying an intermediate gear which intermeshes with said first-mentioned gears, a shaft operated by said steering-post, and a shaft having flexible connections, with said shaft operated by said post and with said rotary member.

4. The combination, in steering gear for vehicles, with the steering-post of a vehicle, of a hollow front axle provided with interior bearings, stub-axles having spindles j ournaled in said axle, independent shafts journaled in said bearings, means to actuate said spindles fromsaid shafts, means to rotate said shafts in opposite directions, and flexible driving means between said steeringpost and said, rotary driving means'for said shafts. e

SZCZEPAN KUZDZIAL. WVitnesses:

A. C. FAIRBANKS, F. A. CUTTER.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

